Primary School Places

Rugby Boys Retain ARK 7s Title

Year 8 pupils from Isaac Newton, Bolingbroke and ARK Putney came together at Burlington Danes Academy on Wednesday to compete for the coveted ARK Rugby 7s title.

With the sport currently taking off in many corners of the ARK network – this being the second year the tournament has been held – there was a lot resting on the afternoon’s matches. Not ones to shy away from a spot of rain, the boys shrugged off a heavy downpour and took to the field with an intensity and determination sure to produce some entertaining rugby.

First up in the round-robin stage of the event were BDA and Isaac Newton. After what was a very physical opening encounter, Burlington Danes emerged the winners with the final score at 20-0. A strong Bolingbroke side then beat ARK Putney by the same margin, scoring a series of impressive tries worked through good ball retention and quick passing amongst a fiery back line.

Burlington Danes then took on Bolingbroke in what looked to be the pick of the early matches. Following a close first ten minutes, during which the teams traded sustained periods of possession, the score stood at 15-5 in favour of the home team. Two tries in quick succession from Usher and Kaelan secured the match for Burlington Danes, finishing 25-5.

The final three fixtures of the group stage saw Isaac Newton beat ARK Putney by 20-5, Bolingbroke beat Isaac Newton by 20-5 and Burlington Danes beat ARK Putney by 30-0.

As the clouds broke and sun filtered onto the pitch, the third and fourth place playoff between ARK Putney and Isaac Newton got underway. ARK Putney found form and stole third place with a convincing 25-0 victory. In the final match of the day, a hat trick from BDA wing Usher helped the hosts retain their crown as ARK Rugby 7s champions, beating Bolingbroke by 20-5.

BDA coach Mr Thornton said: “We’d like to thank all of the teams who attended. It’s great to come together with other ARK schools for some friendly competition. We were all very impressed with the standard this afternoon. It’s plain to see that a lot of time and effort has gone into training over the last year. Hopefully we’ll have more schools taking part next time.”

Omar, captain of BDA, said: “We all really enjoyed it. It was good to play against other ARK teams and we’re happy to have won.”

All of the players present showed great sportsmanship during and between games, behaving very much in the positive spirit of rugby.